Caught
by White Firebird
Summary: "If I can't have you, no one can", she whispered into Paige's ear, sending chills down her spine. "You had your chance to have me, April. You lost it", she shot back. "Then I guess I'll just have to catch you in my webs and make sure you never leave."
1. Thanks for nothing

**Hey everyone. Here's something new that I've been working on. Inspiration for this struck a while back and I've been looking to write something out of my comfort zone, so to speak. I loved what they did with Paige and AJ last summer/fall and into WrestleMania this year, and well, I noticed there aren't many fics about these two goddesses, so I figured I'd throw my hat into the pile and see where it goes from here. I'm excited to see where I can take it. I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

 **"Why are you leaving?"**

 _"I just need to."_

 **"That's not good enough!"**

 _"It's...it's all I can give you."_

 **"Please don't go."**

 _"I have to...I'm sorry."_

It had only been two days since their final conversation, but it felt like it had been two years. She remembered the tone of said conversation, and the raw emotion that permeated each word they spoke to each other. She had heard the whispers, the rumors that were spread around the entire locker room leading up to WrestleMania, but she refused to believe any of them. She herself had said not to pay any mind to them, to just focus on Mania and their match with Nikki and Brie, the banes of their collective existences. Then they won! Oh, was it glorious to shut those brats up on the biggest stage in all of wrestling. The two of them were riding a high that she didn't want to come down from. And then it just...happened.

April was leaving, and Paige was right back where started months ago when she began her crusade against the Bella's.

All by herself.

"Aww, what's the matter, poppet? Is someone sad that their fellow freak left her high and dry?", she could hear that bitch Nikki saying. She could hear all the taunts and awful things they would surely say to her echoing through her skull as she sat in her hotel room, staring out the window, trying her hardest not to let the tears on the tip of her eyelashes fall. Why did this hurt so much? Why did she care as much as she did? And why was she feeling like she had lost more than just a friend?

She remembered the pep talk April had given her before they went through the curtain for their match. She was a nervous wreck, a near lethal cocktail of stress and anxiety just waiting to consume her. This was **Wrestle-fucking-Mania** , the biggest event in their business. **Seventy seven thousand** people. Levi's Stadium. California. She just...she didn't know if she was gonna be able to handle it. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around; it was April. And she was smiling.

 _"Relax, pumpkin. Just remember what we're here to do. We're here to show everyone that not all girls need to be blow up dolls with big fake breasts, ass implants and god awful spray tans and crappy extensions. They can be weirdos, outcasts, freaks, geeks, nerds, whatever. They can be pale skinned or they can be crazy. They just need to be themselves. There's a ton of little girls out there in the crowd who look up to the two of us, who consider us heroines, who idolize us. Let's do right by them. And most importantly...let's shut those two bimbo's the hell up."_

Everything after that was a piece of cake.

Flopping down onto the bed, she found herself staring at the ceiling, for all intents and purposes looking like a woman who was seeking an answer from above that wasn't going to come. Her hazel eyes wandered to the fridge in the corner, where killing the mini bar inside of it was suddenly looking like a great idea right about now. She would take anything right now to numb the pain, dull the emotional damage that had been dealt to her heart. Why did she fucking care so much? They were just really good friends who had gotten closer over these past few months. A lot closer...

The sound of knocking jarred her from her thoughts, and for some reason she really thought it'd be April on the other side of the door. So when she opened the it to reveal her best friend Emma, she would've been lying if she wasn't a little disappointed. Letting her into the room, she turned around and walked right into a tight embrace from the blonde Aussie. One she eagerly returned. It was now that the tears began to fall, and she made no attempt to stop them from flowing freely.

"It's okay, love", Emma cooed as her grip tightened. She could only imagine how much this was killing her best friend right now. Detaching herself from the pale skinned beauty, she saw the tears falling from her eyes and felt her heart break for her. "Oh Paiger...", she whispered as she hugged her again. "This is really upsetting you, huh?"

All she could do was manage a feeble nod before squirming out of her friend's arms. Kicking open the fridge door, she grabbed two mini bottles of whatever vodka it was in there and, without much regard for what Emma would think or the hangover that would surely follow if she kept going, practically swallowed them whole.

"Paiger, stop", she said, grabbing her wrists gently to prevent her from repeating her actions. "Everything will be okay. You'll become a stronger woman because of this. You don't need her", she said, immediately regretting those words when the raven haired woman sharply turned her head and gave her one of the sternest looks she could ever remember receiving. "Okay, poor choice of words there."

"No shit", Paige blurted out bluntly, her accent coming out thick. "How could she just **do** this, though? Just up and **leave** like that? I feel like the biggest frickin' fool ever for believing her...", she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. This was hitting her so much harder than she thought it would. They were just close friends, right? Yeah, they had a lot in common, mainly their hatred of those damn Bella's, but there were other things too. They were just close friends...

Paige's mind then began to wander to the WrestleMania after party. Of course they were celebrating their victory hard. The liquor was flowing, the music was loud and pounding, and everyone was enjoying themselves. She remembered sitting at the round table she was sharing with Dean, Roman and Daniel, among others. Everyone was drunk, or at least halfway there. She had felt a tug on her arm, and saw that April was trying to get her onto the dance floor, but she wouldn't have any of it, at least initially. But after another shot of vodka, she found herself being dragged onto the floor by the tiny brunette.

And they danced. She was incredibly sloshed, but that didn't matter. They both felt alive as they moved in rhythm with the beat of whatever crappy house music was blaring throughout the club. After a while, she had stopped dancing and was watching April go at it...it was a sight to behold. The way her body moved, the sweat glistening off her skin, the way she was just feeling herself...Paige was enamored. She had been for a while, if she was being honest with herself, but it wasn't until now, **right now** , seeing April like this...when her heart wasn't skipping a beat, it was thudding against her ribcage like a drum.

Walking (stumbling) up toward April, an idea crossed her mind... _'Why not?'_ , she thought to herself as he got closer. She could always blame the alcohol tomorrow. Once she was within earshot of April, she reached out to touch her shoulder. "Hey, AJayyyy", she slurred slightly to no response, the alcohol taking effect. "Aprilllllll!", she whined, finally getting the tiny brunette to turn around and face her.

"Yes, my little crumpet?", April said with a giggle as she ran a hand through her wavy, mahogany locks, seeing how hammered her friend was. "What can I do you for?", she asked with a wink, the sexual nature of her words plain as day to both of them. "Come to celebrate with me some more? How awesome was it when I made that bitch Nikki tap out, huh?", she asked excitedly. "We fucking showed them, didn't we!?", she exclaimed, causing Paige to laugh at April's choice language. It was always a treat when April cursed.

It was then when Paige noticed just how close she had gotten to April. She was practically hanging off of her like...well, like a spider. A black widow, to be exact. This would make things easier, she thought to herself. Tilting her head to face the former three time Divas Champion, she figured now was as good a time as any...

Except by now, she had already felt herself begin to drift off into the land of unconsciousness. She was now barely hanging on to April, her eyes fluttering open and shut every few seconds. April couldn't help but laugh out loud at this development. Slinging the taller woman's arm around her shoulder, she began to carry/drag her to the exit. "Okay pumpkin, time for bed. Someone's all partied out", she whispered into her seashell shaped ear, grinning madly the entire time.

Minutes later, they were in Paige's room, April having carried her (mostly dragged, and with great difficulty given the height difference) the rest of the way, with the younger woman muttering incoherently the entire trip up there. But instead of going straight to bed, the self proclaimed Anti-Diva made a beeline for the bathroom and began to empty the contents of her stomach into what April hoped was the toilet. Anything but the bath or sink, because cleaning that up would be a bitch and a half. Pushing the door open with her Converse covered foot, she breathed a sigh of minor relief when she saw a mound of black and blue hair hugging the toilet.

The two of them spent close to an hour in there. Paige would vomit in spurts, and April always made sure she was there to hold her hair back and make sure she was well taken care of. After she was finally done, April helped her to bed and tucked her in, sitting by her side as the native of Norwich looked dreamily into her eyes. They remained like that, in silence, for a few moments, until Paige laughed.

"What's so funny, drunky pants?", April asked as she brushed a lock of blue hair out of her friend's eye, thankful that the night was finally winding down to a close. She looked down into the younger woman's heavily lidded eyes, her own filled with pride and joy. They had accomplished something big tonight. The both of them. It was one of the proudest moments of her life, and she was glad she was able to share it with her little English muffin.

"Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?", Paige suddenly blurted out in a giggly tone. "I mean, look at you. You're **gorgeous**!", she said, drawing out the 's'. "So lovely, so beautiful, so _weird_ ", she followed up with, making April smile. She always did love hearing Paige's accent come out as thick as it was now. "And so beautiful too! Sooo, so beautiful. Who knew a _Black Widow_ could be so _beautiful?_ ", she asked rhetorically in-between giggle fits. She was beyond drunk right now.

"Maybe once or twice, someone has. Not as much as you do though, poppet", she said with a grin as she bopped her nose with her pointer finger. "You make a point to tell me that at least seventeen times a day", she said, smiling as Paige did the same and bopped her nose as well. "Sweetie, you're drunk. You need to sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Ohh enough about work", the raven-haired Brit said loudly. "We took names and kicked some hardcore Bella ass tonight! Work can wait", she whined, growing more tired with each second passing. "I wanna talk about you and I. About how awesome we are, and how we're gonna rule the world because freaks and geeks should always rule the world!", she exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air for added emphasis.

April bit down on her tongue to prevent more laughter from escaping her lips, instead letting a small yawn escape. "You're absolutely right, Paigey, you'll get no arguments from me. We'll talk more about it in the morning though, okay? You need to sleep tonight off and I need to find an excuse to binge watch stuff on Netflix all night. Deal?"

Paige nodded her head, and appeared to be finally headed off into the land of the dead, when she suddenly snapped her eyes open and grabbed hold of April's wrist, tugging her back down onto the edge of the bed. "Wait wait wait wait", she said in rapid fire succession. "There's one more thing I wanna say to you, Miss April", she said, the tone in her voice growing serious. "And if I don't say it now, then I never will."

It was then that she threw caution to the wind, grabbed April by the sides of her face, reached up, and kissed her. And it felt fucking **AMAZING.** She tasted just like she thought she would...and she smelled so nice... what amazed her the most was that April wasn't trying to push her away/violently reject it. They remained attached at each other's lips for a few more seconds before the need to breathe became apparent.

Then the silence set it, and it grew thicker with each awkward second that passed.

April was the first to speak, though she really didn't speak; she mouthed the word _'Wow'_ , more so to herself than anything, and stood up off the edge of the bed. Paige looked up at her with pleading eyes, hoping, wishing she'd say anything. "April...?", she whispered out. "Say something...please."

"That was um... _wow_ ", she stammered out. "I wasn't expecting that", she said timidly, her voice soft and small. She began twiddling her thumbs, her eyes now looking down at her Chuck Taylor's. "You um...you know what you're doing, pumpkin, I'll give you that..."

There was no eye contact between the two women, and that only served to make Paige feel more uncertain and nervous about this whole thing. Even in her drunken state of mind, she knew nothing about any of this would feel right if April didn't make eye contact with her. Her own eyes were pleading, almost begging, for any kind of sign that she hadn't just made the biggest ass of herself. "I just...it felt right...April please, say or do something. Don't leave me hanging like this."

April looked to her fellow weirdo and forced a tight smile for her. Sitting back down on the edge of the bed, she took the raven haired Brit's hand in her own and rubbed her thumb on it. She looked like she was struggling with what to say, and for a few more seconds, she opened her mouth and repeatedly closed it, not sure if it was a good time to tell her what was going on in her personal life. Lightly shaking her head, she decided against it. That wound would have to be reopened another time.

"It's late, pumpkin. You need to sleep", she repeated, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I know how you are when you're hungover, so please, for the sake of both of us, try and get some shut eye", she said, another tight smile on her lips. She went to get up and turn the lights off, but before she did, she turned and faced her. "I promise, we'll talk about what just happened tomorrow, Paigey."

She nodded and soon drifted off into dream land, content with what April had told her.

Except the talk never happened. She woke up the next morning to find the room empty, any and all traces of April gone. It was like she had vanished into thin air. Then came show time, and April did everything in her power to avoid her like she had the plague. They must've said three words to each other before their six woman tag with Naomi against those damn Bella's and Natalya.

The match came and went, and when she tried tracking April down after it, she was nowhere to be found. And then the next thing she knew, she was gone. Poof. Like a bandit into the thick of the night, she got the hell out of dodge and ran right into retirement. And that brought her back to now.

Emma had long since departed, leaving Paige to her thoughts and the mini bar, or what was left of it by now. "I'll never forgive you for this, April...", she murmured to herself, scrolling through her phone, looking at pictures the two of them had taken during WrestleMania week. One by one, she deleted them all. Why keep memories of someone who quit on her when she needed her most? That's all April would be now to her, a distant memory.

Bringing up their texts, she scrolled through them too, and shook her head, a sad look on her face as she read each one. Deciding against better judgement, she typed out one last, lengthy text and pressed send. She didn't care if April read it or not, she just needed to get her piece off of her chest. Deleting her number from her phone, Paige threw herself down onto the bed and downed one last mini bottle of vodka, her eyes becoming heavier with each passing second.

"Goodbye, April", she said to herself as she let a yawn escape. "Thanks for nothing."

Because that's what she felt like without her Black Widow around.

Nothing.

* * *

 **Once more, I hope you all enjoyed. See you soon.**


	2. SummerSlam

**Hey everyone. Here's chapter two. It covers SummerSlam, and after that, everything that happens is of my own creation. I won't, and don't want to follow the current storylines on television because it doesn't fit into what I want to do with this story. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

 **Four months ago**

She had been trying to sleep. Sleep was something that hadn't come easily to her in the wake of her sudden retirement, not that it ever did even when she was on the road. But when she shocked the world and dropped her announcement, insomnia plagued her like it never had before. It had only been two days since she hung up her Chuck Taylor's and skipped off into the sunset, leaving the life she thought she loved behind for good. But it felt a lot longer than that.

After binge watching crappy horror movies all night, she finally felt something that resembled exhaustion course throughout her veins. Crawling underneath the covers, her eyes began to shut, and she was finally on her way to letting sleep fully claim her...until her phone started vibrating off the hook. Of course.

Rolling her eyes and groaning inwardly, April reached over and grabbed it before it fell off the nightstand and to the floor. After reading the text she received, she wished she had let it hit the ground.

 _I hate you. I hate you so much. How could you just leave me like this? I shouldn't be so surprised that you did though. I knew you'd run off, just like Punk did. You two fucking deserve each other. I really hope he's worth it all. I really hope he's worth it to walk out on me and everything we were trying to accomplish. I just...I just hate you so much. This is the last time you'll ever hear from me. I never want to speak to you again, AJ. Goodbye forever. Thanks for nothing._

* * *

 **Present day - 5:50 PM**

April sighed, shaking her head as she looked up at the bright lights that illuminated the exterior of the Barclays Center. Why was she even here right now, she had asked herself repeatedly on the train ride over. Why did she think it'd be a good idea to come? She was pretty convinced that the girls in the back considered her persona non grata. Hell, the new girls probably had no idea who the hell she even was, now that she thought about it. How sad...

Then she looked back up and saw her image flash across one of the many video boards, next to a rather tall blonde and another girl with super duper bright red hair. She let the smallest of grins spread across her lips as she forged onward.

There was her reason for coming here. Her pale skinned, black and blue haired, Doc Martens wearing, screaming reason.

* * *

 **2:36 PM**

"Earth to Paige. Hellooo, anybody home in that pretty little head? Paige!"

A set of fingers snapping invaded her vision, making her shake her head to snap her out of her daze. "Huh? What's up? Is it show time yet?"

The two girls to each side of her both laughed, shaking their heads. "They haven't even finished setting the ring up, lady", Becky said, leaning back in her seat and kicking her feet up. "We've got hours to go before we take center stage."

The raven haired Brit mouthed 'Oh' and let a sigh slip through her lips, giving her head a good shake as she leaned forward and looked at the crew go to work in setting the squared circle up... _her house_. At least, she was hoping that after tonight, it would still be her house. She had nothing but the utmost amount of faith in her girls but still...no. It wasn't just _her_ house anymore. It was **their** house. And it was going to stay that way.

"What'cha thinking about?", Charlotte asked as she stood up to stretch out her almost comically long limbs, her eyes not once leaving the area where, hours from now, the three of them would take place in the biggest match of their careers. Well, hers and Becky's at least. The two of them hadn't been on the grand stage of WrestleMania just yet...

"About how much things change in the course of a year", Paige responded back with in a rare moment of honesty. She almost never spoke about her past, and for good reason. The two NXT graduates knew better than to pry when it came to their leader's emotional baggage over a certain itsy bitsy spider...

"Oh?", Becky asked, wanting to tread lightly and not risk pissing her off. "Anything in particular you wanna talk about?"

Paige shook her head and closed her eyes, thinking back to when things were somewhat simpler than they were now. A year ago, on the very same stage of SummerSlam, she became Divas Champion for the second time. She was on top of the world. Hell, she was the best Diva in the world...but then she lost the title at Night of Champions...and, well...yeah.

"You know you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, P", she heard Charlotte say as she returned from that trip down memory lane. "We won't ever judge you. It's your story to tell. If you ever want to, that is", she quickly added, putting her arm around the pale Brit's shoulders. "We're here for you."

"And we're not going anywhere, lady. We're here with ya till ya get sick of us", Becky said in her thick Irish brogue, throwing her own arm around Paige's other shoulder. "PCB till the end", she said as she extended her free hand, pinky out.

"PCB till the end", Charlotte added with a wink and a woo, wrapping her pinky around Becky's. "C'mon, P. It's not complete without you."

Paige looked to her girls and allowed a smile to creep across her lips. Giving them both kisses on the cheek, she threw her own pinky around theirs and nodded her head. They had a job to do tonight, and she'd be damned if they weren't going to succeed in completing it.

"PCB till the end, girls. Now lets kick some ass tonight and show them who's really leading this revolution."

* * *

 **9:58 PM**

She looked up at the lights, the gaudy entrance, the mat, the ropes, the apron, the barricades...looking at it all made her feel like she was trying to put on an old pair of jeans (denim cutoffs?) and finding out they didn't fit anymore.

How had something that she had worked her entire life for become so foreign in the span of four short months? All of this felt so right yet so wrong at the same time. A rather large part of her felt that she shouldn't be here right now, no matter how noble, if not long overdue and awaited, her intentions were. The last thing she needed right now was for someone to recognize her and draw undue attention to herself.

But then there was the other, smaller side of her that knew, deep down, that being here was the right course of action to take. She knew that the task at hand was a daunting one at best, and damn near suicidal at worst. But the way she left and, more importantly, **who** she left behind, had been bothering her, bugging her, eating away at her psyche. She had to make things right with her little crumpet. She just... **had to**.

Blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes and leaning back in her seat, April started to grow anxious. She was just waiting for the right opportunity to make her presence known...when she heard the scream echo throughout the Barclays Center, she had the widest, brightest smile on her lips. Now was as good a time as any. Watching the trio walk down to the ring, she knew this was it. She was so close, she could reach out and touch her.

So reach and touch her April did.

* * *

 **9:54 PM**

She looked at herself in the mirror and let a breath out that she didn't know she was holding in. She had only felt this way once before, and that was at WrestleMania...she pushed the thought of that day from her head just as quickly as it had entered. Twirling her finger around a strand of her blue hair, Paige took one last look at herself and nodded. It was time to show Team B.A.D. and Team Bimbo whose house they were trespassing in.

"You ready for this, girls?", she asked as she exited the dressing room, Charlotte and Becky both right there, ready and waiting. They both smiled and nodded as well, the smiles replaced by looks of sheer determination. This made her smile as well; she had done well in picking these two. She knew she had the winning team. Now they just had to go out there and show the world (Sorry, Dolph.)

As they watched the two inferior teams make their entrances, Paige turned to her girls. She didn't quite know what had come over her as she began to speak, but she knew it just felt right. So she spoke.

"Tonight is our night. Tonight, we're gonna go out there and show everyone around the globe what the Divas Revolution is truly about. Tonight, there's six women in _our_ house, six women who are unwelcome, who think they're the ones who run the show. Well, no more. We're gonna show them whose house it really is. And we're gonna take this revolution to new heights, or we're gonna die trying. But tonight, it's _our_ house. And we fight to protect what's ours."

Charlotte and Becky both grinned huge grins as she finished her speech. The three of them shared a group hug before the scream that signified their entrance echoed throughout the Barclays Center. She remembered being on the other side of that talk...no. _'Not tonight'_ , she whispered to herself. _'Not now. Not in front of the girls.'_ She pushed those feelings down as far as she could. She had to.

Walking through the curtain and into the arena, she stole quick glances at her girls and saw the star struck looks in their eyes and chuckled; she knew what that feeling was like. They marched down the ring with purpose, ready to hand out some justice, PCB style. As she reached the barricade to slap a few fans' hands, she felt something...someone, tug on her jacket. She turned her head to see who it was and, well...

If her face could've gotten paler in that moment, it would have.

* * *

 **10:23 PM**

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this, you know?"

April looked up into Nattie's rageful brown eyes and nearly wilted underneath them. Right after the match (which PCB or whatever they were calling themselves won, thank god), she felt someone grab her arm and saw that security was whisking her away to the backstage area. And that's how she found herself being scolded like she had just gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Well, to be fair, she kind of had...

"Okay, so _maybe_ getting her attention before the match had even started was a bad idea."

"Getting her attention **at all** was a bad idea! Do you realize what you've just done to her, April? Because judging from your demeanor, I don't think you do."

"It's not like I killed her or anything! All I did was reach out and touch her like any other fan would've!"

Nattie shook her head vigorously and let a frustrated sigh escape from her lips. This was going to prove to be more difficult than she originally thought.

"Yeah, but you're not just _'any other fan'_ , April", she began, doing her best to keep her composure. "You were a big part of her life for a while. Do you know how crushed she was when she found out you were retiring? I think she could've handled it better if she had heard it straight from you. But for her to find out on Twitter? She didn't want to speak to anyone for days on end. She was so hurt...you did a number on her, April, whether you choose to realize it or not."

 _'Don't let her see how much this is bothering you, don't let her see you crack'_ , April thought to herself as she let a tiny smile form on her lips, brushing aside a few stray strands of her hair. Looking back up at Nattie, she exhaled deeply and continued. "Nattie, I didn't come here to start any shit or cause any problems, okay? I just came here to say my piece to Paige and then go on with my life. Nothing more, nothing less."

The blonde Canadian snorted and looked appalled that she would even dare say such things. "And what exactly would this piece that you have to say consist of, hm? You do also realize just how hypocritical you sounded there, right?"

April closed her eyes, her lips forming a straight line as she inhaled and exhaled through her now flared nostrils. She understood what Nattie was doing right now, and she silently commended her for her loyalty to Paige. But right now, it was quickly beginning to agitate her to no end. She considered pushing her way past her, but knew that doing so would probably result in a fight she had no desire to partake in. So she let a sigh escape her lips and cursed herself under her breath. She was about to crack.

"Nattie, listen. I meant what I just said. I'm not here to start any bullshit or cause drama or any of that crap. I'm here because I wanted to apologize to Paige personally for what I did and how I went about doing it. Yes, you're right, she shouldn't have had to hear about my retirement on Twitter, Facebook, or anything like that. I should've went to her and told her to her face, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret not doing that. And if I hurt her, upset her, or caused any shift in behavior in her, then I am truly, truly sorry for that. It was never my intention to cause any harm to her at all, and I mean that. She's..."

She thought back to the night of WrestleMania...the after party, the dancing...the kiss they shared. It all came rushing back to her. "She's a special girl", she said softly, barely above a whisper. "And she's a good, close friend of mine. Was, that is. I never wanted to hurt or upset her. But I know she never wants to speak to me again, she made that abundantly clear, and I know that the majority of the girls would kill me on sight if they saw me, so could you just...could you just tell Paige all of this? Seeing as you refuse to let me by and tell her all this myself."

Nattie stood there and looked deep and hard at her, almost like she was staring into her soul. She contemplated her words, remaining silent and making everything awkward. April rocked back and forth on her heels for a bit, waiting for whatever confirmation that Nattie was, indeed, going to let her by, but it never came.

After a few more moments of silence, April rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath. She knew this would all end up being a waste of time in the end. Taking a step back, she ran a hand through her wavy mahogany locks and shook her head, disappointment all over her face as she began to speak.

"Well, I can clearly see you've made your choice, Nat. Thanks for letting me speak my piece. I doubt you'll actually tell Paige any of this and make me out to be more of a monster than I already am, but I can live with that. I did what I came here to do. So yeah, _thank you_. It was _so nice_ to see you again", she said as bitingly as she could before turning on her Chuck Taylor covered heels and walking away.

Nattie watched as April walked away and shook her head, proud of herself for standing her ground. "Good riddance", she said to herself as she too turned around, ready to head back to the locker room, when she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sudden appearance of...

"Paige", she breathed out as she saw the distraught look on the young Brit's face. She looked so utterly confused right now. "Did you hear all of that?"

She looked over Nattie's shoulder at where April was standing a few moments ago. She bit down on her lip and willed a tear away as she tried her best not to break down again.

"Why did you let her leave?"

* * *

 **2:11 AM**

The trip home from Brooklyn to Union City was one of the longest of her entire life. She couldn't remember the last time she felt as emotionally drained as she was right now. Well, that was a lie. She _did_ remember the last time she felt like this. It was just something she didn't ever want to remember.

After arriving home and showering the night off of her, April found herself sprawled out on her couch, watching crappy infomercial after crappy infomercial. Sighing and closing her eyes, she hoped sleep would finally claim her for more than three and a half hours. Tonight was one she was hoping to forget and move on from as quickly as possible.

A loud crack of thunder caused her eyes to snap open. _'So much for that'_ , she thought as she looked out the window. It had been raining on and off on the ride home, but now it was full on pouring. Groaning, she forced herself off the couch and made her way back upstairs, fully intent on falling face first onto her bed, when a knocking sound stopped her. At least, she thought it was knocking. Thinking nothing of it, she continued up her steps when she heard it again.

Walking back down, she heard the knocking for the third time. "I really hope I'm not going crazy...", April muttered to herself as she stepped forward, going against all conventional wisdom and logic in her head that was screaming at her to not open the door.

Putting her hand on the doorknob, she paused for a moment, wondering if it indeed was a good idea to see if there was anyone there. For all she knew, Jason Voorhees and his bloody machete could be standing on the other side of her door. Shaking her head of that thought, she shrugged her shoulders and opened the door to find a surprise she wasn't quite ready to deal with.

"Paige."

* * *

 **And that's that for chapter two. See you next time.**


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